-The most thought--provoking book is J Kenneth Brody's study of Pierre Laval. . . Still, Brody is surely right that -if Pierre Laval, in participating in the formation of the Vichy government and later in serving in it, were guilty of a capital crime, then his co-defendants in France would have been legion- and would have included the bulk of the political and administrative classes of the Third Republic that collapsed in 1940.- --Tony Barber, former
Financial Times Brussels bureau chief -J. Kenneth Brody provides a picture of France in World War II that continues to haunt the present. The architect of Marshal Petain's Vichy French regime and its prime minister from April 1942 to August 1944. Pierre Laval was promptly arrested on charges of treason at the war's end. This book tells the story of his trial.-
-Yale Law Report
-As defense counsel of Pierre Laval and witness to the last moments of his life, I have read the manuscript of The Trial of Pierre Laval with keen interest. It makes an important contribution to the history of Europe of the twentieth century, relating the efforts of Pierre Laval to avoid the War of 1939-1945 and to limit the consequences to France of a severe Occupation. It also relates the conditions under which the death penalty was pronounced against him without his being able to present a normal defense. Mr. Brody presents with insight and great objectivity the case which Pierre Laval could have made to his judges; the final verdict rests with posterity.-
-Maitre Yves Frederic JaffrE, Member of the Paris Bar and Defense Counsel to Pierre Laval
-Brody does an excellent job of recounting the events of the trial, citing the particular actions for which Laval was being -condemned,- providing the historical framework within which the actions occurred, and the actual decisions made by Laval in each circumstance. The ironies, the judicial biases, the exit of the defense lawyers, the emotions, the Laval responses, and the vocal comments of members of the jury made this a highly charged judicial proceeding, very well presented by Brody.-
-The Readers Exchange
-This succinct recall of the infamous trial of Laval can be numbered among a growing body of literature recounting the multifarious machinations for good and evil surrounding World War II. The author has woven into a seamless web critical excerpts from the trial proceedings and Laval's prison conversations with his attorney. ... It is not simply a crucial piece of history but a compelling analysis of the awful power of the amoral state.- -Richard Abel -This book was written to present the defenses that Laval declined to present as a protest of the unfairness of the trial proceedings. The book is brilliantly written, with details that bring the trial and people involved to life. The scholarship is amazing, but does not weight down the flow of the story.-
-Herb Park
-[
The Trial of Pierre Laval] is a gripping daily story of the highs and lows of Laval's testimony and the fearful odds he faced in trying to convince an already determined trial court and jury that he should be acquitted. The author skillfully presents the defense that Laval might have made in an impartial proceeding.- -Norman J. Wiener
"The most thought--provoking book is J Kenneth Brody's study of Pierre Laval. . . Still, Brody is surely right that "if Pierre Laval, in participating in the formation of the Vichy government and later in serving in it, were guilty of a capital crime, then his co-defendants in France would have been legion" and would have included the bulk of the political and administrative classes of the Third Republic that collapsed in 1940." --Tony Barber, former
Financial Times Brussels bureau chief "J. Kenneth Brody provides a picture of France in World War II that continues to haunt the present. The architect of Marshal Petain's Vichy French regime and its prime minister from April 1942 to August 1944. Pierre Laval was promptly arrested on charges of treason at the war's end. This book tells the story of his trial."
-Yale Law Report
"As defense counsel of Pierre Laval and witness to the last moments of his life, I have read the manuscript of The Trial of Pierre Laval with keen interest. It makes an important contribution to the history of Europe of the twentieth century, relating the efforts of Pierre Laval to avoid the War of 1939-1945 and to limit the consequences to France of a severe Occupation. It also relates the conditions under which the death penalty was pronounced against him without his being able to present a normal defense. Mr. Brody presents with insight and great objectivity the case which Pierre Laval could have made to his judges; the final verdict rests with posterity."
-Maitre Yves Frederic JaffrE, Member of the Paris Bar and Defense Counsel to Pierre Laval
"Brody does an excellent job of recounting the events of the trial, citing the particular actions for which Laval was being "condemned," providing the historical framework within which the actions occurred, and the actual decisions made by Laval in each circumstance. The ironies, the judicial biases, the exit of the defense lawyers, the emotions, the Laval responses, and the vocal comments of members of the jury made this a highly charged judicial proceeding, very well presented by Brody."
-The Readers Exchange
"This succinct recall of the infamous trial of Laval can be numbered among a growing body of literature recounting the multifarious machinations for good and evil surrounding World War II. The author has woven into a seamless web critical excerpts from the trial proceedings and Laval's prison conversations with his attorney. ... It is not simply a crucial piece of history but a compelling analysis of the awful power of the amoral state." -Richard Abel "This book was written to present the defenses that Laval declined to present as a protest of the unfairness of the trial proceedings. The book is brilliantly written, with details that bring the trial and people involved to life. The scholarship is amazing, but does not weight down the flow of the story."
-Herb Park
"[
The Trial of Pierre Laval] is a gripping daily story of the highs and lows of Laval's testimony and the fearful odds he faced in trying to convince an already determined trial court and jury that he should be acquitted. The author skillfully presents the defense that Laval might have made in an impartial proceeding." -Norman J. Wiener
